Hang on for a minute...we're trying to find some more stories you might like.

Email This Story

Send email to this addressEnter Your NameAdd a comment hereVerification

Shoot. Darn. Crap. What do all these words have in common? They are all cover-up words or “mild” words for more offensive terms. They used to be used frequently, but today’s teens and tweens are using more vulgar language than ever before. Most adults are shocked when formerly forbidden terms come out of young adults’ mouths.

Why are kids letting the curse words fly? One answer seems to lie in the movies and TV shows young adults watch and the music they listen to. Researchers at Brigham Young University took 223 middle-school students and asked them about their exposure to profane language in TV shows and videogames. The study concluded the more often children were exposed to swear words on these media platforms, the more likely they were to use the words themselves, and the more likely it was that they would act aggressively toward others.

There is also the lack of discipline or repercussions for foul language. Back-in-the day, children would get soap put in their mouth for using “foul language”. Now, the use of swear words in our youth is so prevalent, that often children are not even taught or told the words are wrong. Parents may laugh at one word and punish for another. Inconsistency.

Immaturity is yet another factor. When young adults say curse words, many feel like they are “cool” or “popular”, or they are looking for validation they are growing older or maturing.

“So many middle-school students curse because of the influence of social media and T.V. I used to hear them curse when I was in middle school because they thought it was cool,” said sophomore, Alyssa Dragovich.

Years ago, a dropped curse word on campus would land a student in the principal’s office. Today, rarely a referral is written. Does that mean we’ve become a society of trash-talking thugs, or are there just more important things to worry about?